Chelsea FC manager Frank Lampard has provided a fitness update on three first-team players ahead of the forthcoming league clash against Aston Villa at home.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Lampard acknowledged that Abraham has a chance of making the matchday squad but he would take a late decision on the same, given he has yet to completely overcome his hip problem.
“Tammy is okay. We are going to give him every possible chance to be fit. There is still some pain in the area of the injury, we will make a judgement call tomorrow,” he told Chelsea TV.
When pressed further on the situations of Ross Barkley and Antonio Rudiger, Lampard said that the former is ruled out due to an illness while the latter may need to wait a little longer to make his comeback after a two-and-a-half month absence with a groin problem.
“Ross Barkley has been sick, he was ill Sunday night. He is in this morning but not recovered enough to be available tomorrow. Toni Rudiger is close. He has stepped up his training, particularly in the last week, so we are hopeful he will be available in the next week to 10 days,” he added.
Chelsea FC are presently occupying the final Champions League qualification in fourth but they have recently suffered back-to-back losses against Manchester City and West Ham United.
This has somewhat reduced their advantage over the teams outside of the top four and Lampard will be hoping that his side can provide a strong display against the Villains, who are no pushovers by any means.
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